


Bonded

by Fostofina



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Mention of other ships (if you squint), Other, RoseGarden, RosePine, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 07:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12649152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fostofina/pseuds/Fostofina
Summary: "Her soulmark was nothing like her father’s brilliantly bold and angular words, etched onto his back in angry red jotting, looking more like open wounds than an emblem of love. Nor is it like Yang’s, scribbled elegantly in striking black and twining around her right arm in what looks like a beautiful dance between shadows."RoseGarden Soulmate!AU where people are born with a tattoo that shows the first thing their soulmate says to them.





	Bonded

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SquadronGal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquadronGal/gifts).



> This was inspired by Squadrongal’s wonderful art! thank you for all your delightful encouragement!
> 
> Also I should definitely mention that the epilogue in this story is a blatantly obvious nod to Feynites looking glass , an absolutely marvelous dragon age Solavellan story that deserves all the nods and references in the world. Some of the paragraphs used in the epilogue are extremely similar to Fey’s story, so if you liked it and are into DA then you should definitely check her out.
> 
> I'll leave all the links at the end ;D
> 
> Happy reading!

Ruby sits alone and stares at the words on her forearm.

Her soulmark was nothing like her father’s brilliantly bold and angular words, etched onto his back in angry red jotting, looking more like open wounds than an emblem of love. Nor is it like Yang’s, scribbled elegantly in striking black and twining around her right arm in what looks like a beautiful dance between shadows _._

 _‘You…have_ _silver eyes_ ’

Ruby’s words are brown and they are written plainly in neat, simple handwriting. She knows what people think when they glance a look at them and don’t see any of the radiance that a soulmark usually has, she can see it in her uncle’s relieved eyes and in her sister’s sympathetic smile. _Poor Ruby, she’s forever bound to a_ _bland and regular soul._

But Ruby just ignores them, because she finds it hard to care about what everyone else think of her mark when she sits alone and properly looks at it again. It’s true that her mark looks dull at first glance, but then she shifts her forearm a bit into the light and the brown words turn into a shining emerald green, and when she moves a bit more the green turns into a shimmering honey that deepens into an exquisite pine hazel. Her eyes follow the ever-shifting colors, and Ruby finds herself transfixed as the colors shift once more from sparkling grass green to a lustrous gold, and for the hundredth time the only thing that she can think of is how exceedingly _lovely_ her soulmark is.

‘Beautiful’ she breathes.

And the best part is this beauty is reserved for her eyes only.

* * *

 

 

Oscar wipes the sweat from his forehead, he bends down and reaches with his arms to pick up his tools when his soulmark changes suddenly, its deep red color making way to tiny specks of silver. He quickly stands straight and remembers to shove his panic down, Oscar takes a deep calming breath before he turns and _sprints_ to his aunt’s house, his tools forgotten behind him.

He grabs his aunt by her elbow and practically drags her along to the storm shelter as she shouts questions and protests at him, and Oscar desperately wants to answer if only to calm her down, but the telltale silver of his soulmark that keeps crawling over the red warns him against slowing down even for a second. So instead he tightens his hold on her elbow and grabs her wrist too, only allowing himself to let go of her so he can lock the metal cellardoor.

His aunt in turn whirls him around to face her but before she can shout at him a loud screech thunders outside on the farm, and her expression shifts from fury to fear instantly. Oscar reaches for his aunt and pulls her into a calming hug, just as the silver on his forearm completely overtakes the red and the words emanate a soft white light.

_Who…are you?_

Oscar closes his eyes and imagines himself somewhere peaceful and far away, maybe meeting his bonded and telling them that he’s the one that they’ve saved time and time again.

* * *

 

 

‘Ruby Rose’ the old man’s eyes meet her own ‘you…have silver eyes.’

Ruby tries to trample the crushing disappointment as she look _s_ into Professor Ozpin’s eyes and finds an all familiar _brown_ greeting her, just like her mark, just like the consolations that she can already hear Yang giving her, just like the tired smile that she knows her dad will have when he knows that her bonded isn’t meant to be her lover.

It’s not likethere was some sort of rule that said that your bonded _had_ to be who you ended up with. A soulbond was a link between you and your consort soul, and your bonded was supposed to be the one person who can connect to you, in more intimate depths than anyone else in the world. But of course reality wasn’t that simple, Ruby knew that there are people who abandon their bonded all the same, just as there are others that end up _fiercely_ in love even though there’s nothing that ties them. And that there were those who find their bonded, and yet feel nothing for them that can be described as romantic. But still.

But still she had hope, until now.

If the professor realized anything then he doesn’t show it, no doubt to save her the embarrassment, and Ruby is truly grateful for it. She’s even _more_ grateful when he sets out a large plate with a small mountain of cookies heaped on it, and in an instant she attacks the poor things and shoves right them into her mouth, hoping it will wash the bitter taste away.

The conversation she has with him is brief but not empty, he complements her skill and bravery in a tone that’s gentle and polite but not condescending and it instantly sets her at ease. Finally, when the headmaster asks her what she wantsand offers her a place in Beacon without a second of hesitation, she decides that maybe he _can_ know her and her dreams after all.

* * *

 

Oscar’s uncle has been missing for five hours.

He squints at the book vindictively as he tries to give his homework one more shot, he straightens his posture and puts the stupid thing right in his field of vision. But it’s no use, the words still fail to distract him from the shuffling sounds downstairs and the dark thoughts clouding his mind. And try as he might, Oscar can practically _feel_ his aunt’s distress all the way to his room as his eyes dart to his soulmark, not for the first time today.

He sighs and wishes his bonded was here.

Oscar leans on the bed, brushing away his unease as he lets his mind wander to them instead. He knows that he shouldn’t build up his expectation but even so, sometimes he still likes to imagine that they’re a huntsman or a huntress. In truth, all he really hopes is that they’re his age, that they want to see more of the world too, and most of all he wants is for them to be a good person.

‘ _Who…are you?’_

 _I’m Oscar Pine!_ He wants to shout at it his own arm. _My name is Oscar Pine!_

Maybe if whoever decided to bind souls together was a bit kinder, if they would’ve just allowed soulmarks to have people’s names in them, then Oscar’s bonded would be here right now. Laying next to him and talking about something, _anything_ that would help him push through the rising panic in his chest. Or if they don’t want to talk then they can just sit in the room with him, silent and quiet but _there._

Tears suddenly start to sting his eyes and he furiously forces them back. Oscar feels _so stupid._

 _Stupid_ that he’s hiding in his room like a coward while his aunt is worried.

 _Stupid_ that he’s so anxious about his uncle when it’s probably nothing.

But most of all, he feels like a _stupid idiot_ for letting his crushing loneliness get the best of him.

So Oscar gets up instead and heads downstairs to comfort his aunt, his decision already set in stone.

One day he’s going to leave this farm.

* * *

 

 

Beacon has fallen.

Beacon has fallen.

Beacon has fallen.

Ruby stares out the window into the soft snow, autumn has come and gone already, and yet she’s still trying to make sense of _how_ something like this could happen, it’s mind boggling how carefree her life used to be just a few months ago. Nowadays, her dad’s always fussing and looking over his shoulder like she might bolt through the door at any second, and the cheer that used to come so naturally to Ruby feels much more draining, like she somehow has to be twice as happy to make the house feel just a teensy bit brighter.

She wonders if Yang felt this way when mom died?

Ruby focuses on a tree in the distance as she tries to tell herself that she hasn’t really contemplated on all that happened because of the stress and the lack of time, but in her heart she knows the real reason and she isn’t sure that she can live with it.

Tentatively, Ruby rolls up her sleeve and looks at her soulmark for the first time since the Beacon fell. The colors still shift as beautifully as ever, but something isn’t quite right about their tone. Somehow they are all muted, like a layer of dirt has settled on top of them. This small change still manages to send an unexpected dread through her bones, and Ruby clenches her eyes shut as she realizes that she has to face the music.

She knows when and why her uncle Qrow started drinking himself to a stupor every night, she’s seen it in the way the glass always seems to cover her mother’s figure in his team photo. In the way he stills for a fraction of a second when he sees her without her cloak, before he remembers to wipe the wistful expression of his face. And despite how he hides it, Ruby has seen the unmistakable white handwriting on her uncle’s chest.

Heck! Ruby even knows that her dad still thinks fondly of the woman who left him behind with a baby!

So why? _Why_ does she feel _nothing_ when her bonded is probably dead? Why can she only bring herself to ache for the loss of a mentor? A part of her _soul_ is gone forever and yet she’s unchanged? What kind of a monster does that make her?

Ruby’s legs work on autopilot as they head for the first real source of comfort in her life, and she finds herself standing on the open doorway to Yang’s room. It’s neat and tidy and dark lit and so unlike everything that is _Yang_ that Ruby hesitates at first. But then her eyes dart to the bright sunflowers next to her sister’s bed, and the familiar sight helps her steel herself as she walks up to the bed.

Yang’s right arm is gone, right above her soulmark, leaving her body eerily blank. Ruby meets her sister’s equally blank stare and hesitates again, she hadn’t really told anyone about Ozpin, and the idea of confessing that she kept this from Yang suddenly seems cruel.

So instead, Ruby shakes away her doubts as she sits next to her big sister and confesses another secret.

‘Yang, I wanna go to Mistral…’

* * *

 

 

It isn’t until months later that Ruby finds herself in Mistral, sighing at her uncle.

‘Uncle Qrow, did you get drunk again?’

Her Uncle’s slurred ‘maybe’ muffles the light sound of another’s footsteps, and Ruby only notices that there’s someone else in the room when she hears a sharp intake of breath.

_‘You…have silver eyes!'_

Her gaze meets the most memorable face that she thinks she might ever see.

The boy in front of her is about her age, his hair is a rich dark brown that reminds her of the sunflower beds around her home, and his cheeks are dotted with tiny freckles that nestle nicely over his sun-kissed skin. Then her eyes find his own and for what feels like the hundredth time, her breath is stolen right out of her lungs. They are so absolutely captivating that Ruby can’t bring herself to look away, and she watches as their warm honey shifts into a dazzling forest green when the boy cocks his head to the side, then back to a bright hazel when the lights hits his face _just right._

Ruby’s arm feels like it’s buzzing as an electrifying warmth rushes to through her instantly, and somehow she knows in her bones who this person is. She tries to look away to the other people in the room for help but they just shrug at her. So she takes another look at the eyes of her bonded, her _true bonded_ and says the words that are etched into his skin.

_'Who…are you?’_

* * *

 

Oscar finds the niece of his new drunk mentor when she angrily barges out of her room, and his cheeks color instantly at the sight of her.

Ruby Rose is a very, _very_ pretty girl with a self-assured stride and a vivid girlish voice. Her radiant round face is framed between locks of dark lush hair with scarlet tips, a color that’s somehow even _more_ eye-catching against her soft milky skin.

Ozpin is uncharacteristically _quiet_ as Oscar takes in the enchanting creature in front of him.

It’s a strange thing too, the old headmaster is usually silent but never really quiet, and no matter what he does, Oscar can always feel his presence looming over his every thought. But for some reason, the only thing that Oscar can feel from him is a quiet discomfort at the back of his mind.

A feeling that Oscar completely overlooks when he suddenly notices the most striking pair of eyes he has ever seen. They were such a peculiar shade of grey, somewhere between polished diamonds and tarnished steel, like the storm clouds that watered their crops after drought. Her eyes had ferocity and protectiveness that made them gleam like true silver, in a way that reminded him off…

Oh.

_Oh!_

As soon as the thought clicks in his mind, his soulmark starts to tingle, almost as if it’s changing color again but calmer. Oscar walks towards the girl as he takes a deep breath, and she turns around when he speaks to her, too entranced by who she could be to mind with introductions.

_‘You…have silver eyes!’_

Realization dawns on Ruby and her expression widens in surprise in a way that makes hope blooms in his chest, he watches her intently as she looks away and back to him. Patiently Waiting. Trying to hide his restlessness as he anticipates the next words that come out of her mouth.

_'Who…are you?'_

Oscar’s heart flutters so hard that he feels like it’s about to burst out of his chest, and he almost gives her his biggest face splitting smile, before his joy is quenched by the fact that he has to answer that question.

* * *

 

 

**_~Epilogue~_ **

It’s over.

He pours the last ounce of his power into their bond.

The world shatters around Ruby like glass.

And when the black and red and silver finally scatter away, she finds herself in Beacon’s ballroom, curled up in her sleeping bag.

She startles herself awake so fast that Yang stirs next to her. Ruby turns to the side and the sight of the great windows makes tears spring into her eyes, unbidden.

The night sky is blue and full of stars, how long has it been since the sky looked like that?

 _Yang_ puts her right hand on Ruby’s shoulder and drags her back down to her sleeping bag, and Ruby can’t help but get her fill from looking at the girl who looks like her sister.

The girl’s eyes are unburdened and heartbreakingly cocky as she tells her in a too light voice ‘don’t worry sis, school’s gonna be fine.’

She gives her a sleepy wink and goes back to her slumber. And Ruby cannot help but think of Yang, her own Yang, who died. And Weiss, who died. And Blake, who died. And Jaune, and Ren, and Nora, and Pyrrha, and Penny, and dad, and uncle Qrow and everyone else on Remnant , who all died.

So many people are dead, _so much blood on the path._

Because in the end, she was too weak to save them.

Because she couldn’t strike down the world’s enemy herself.

Because she was too blind to realize that there’s a reason why the gods had cursed Ozpin in the first place. That _bastard!bastard!bastard!_

Because Salem was a tiger that bared its claws, while the bastard was a snake that knew how to hide in the grass, who tricked and used _him_ like a cat toying with its prey.

But despite it all, he saw through it, even if it was in the last seconds of it all.

 _Save them_. He had begged her. _forgive me._

Ruby will spare him this time if she can, She hopes, _prays_ , that he stays on his quiet farm and tends to his crops in peace until he is old and gray and fat.

It seems that she must keep the bastard safe.

Ruby curls back up in her sleeping bag, and scoots closer to Yang who’s not really Yang. She lets the tears fall as she bites her lip and swallows her screams.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse my English, it's not really my first language.
> 
> Links to all the good stuff:
> 
> Squadrongal's art: https://squadrongal.tumblr.com/post/166922862719/an-alternate-universe-where-when-you-meet-your
> 
> Feynite's looking glass: http://archiveofourown.org/works/4867676/chapters/11157401


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